You need to take action if you want to avoid being cut off from Zoom
Zoom has been one of the most used, yet most lambasted, contestants in the video conferencing arena during coronavirus-driven lockdown times, and much of the focus has been on privacy and security issues.
Having acknowledged that it had work to do, the company promised to take steps to improve its service and has issued numerous updates to its app in recent months. The release of Zoom 5.0 in April was a major step, and you only have days to upgrade or risk being cut off from the service completely.
See also:
- Zoom is gaining end-to-end encryption following acquisition of Keybase
- Zoom has another security update on the way to cut down on Zoombombing
- Zoom claims to have 300 million daily active users... and then backtracks on misleading statement
Zoom 5.0 came out of Zoom's 90-day focus on security updates, and one of the key improvements was the addition of GCM encryption. But to take advantage of this security feature, and others, people need to be using the latest version of the software. As such, it is important that you update your Zoom client, or you risk being cut out of meetings completely.
The company explains in a blog post:
Beginning May 30, 2020, all Zoom clients and Zoom Rooms must be on version 5.0 or greater to join any meetings, as GCM encryption will be fully enabled for all meetings. Upgrade to the latest Zoom Rooms software in your Zoom Admin Portal for both your room computer and your Zoom Rooms Controller as soon as you can. On May 30, Zoom will cut over all accounts to GCM encryption.
Additionally, Zoom says:
On June 30, 2020, Zoom Rooms will have enhanced encryption between Zoom Rooms Controller and Zoom Rooms enabled. Zoom Rooms Controllers (including Zoom Rooms Scheduling Displays) not running the minimum versions will no longer continue to function. Please update your Zoom Rooms Controller software to meet the following minimum versions either manually or by using Zoom Device Management (ZDM) in the admin portal in order to ensure your Zoom Rooms are running properly by June 30, 2020.
- iOS: 4.3.33237.0924
- Android: 4.3.33237.0925
- Windows: 4.3.13234.0925
In short -- update Zoom now!
See also: Michael Vi / Shutterstock